5.3: Armor
Since combat is such an integral part of most role-playing games, it follows that death and injury are also part of them. In order to make sure that this occurs to the bad guys and not to themselves, characters will need extra protection; they will need armor. Most societies in the Wing Commander Universe generally don't allow the use of armor except in combat situations or as part of police duties; it is unusual to see anyone wearing armor openly in normal everyday life unless that person either is expecting trouble or plans to cause it. A notable exception to this general rule is Kilrathi society, where personal body armor is quite fashionable amongst the thrak'hra. Specific armor types have their own statistics, which are as follows: *Name: What the type of Armor is called. *Type: The general kind of armor being described (either Armor or Shield). *Availability: This indicated the level of technological development required before the Armor becomes available. *Deployment: This lists how long it takes to put on and remove the Armor, assuming the character has no help from other characters; if they do have help, it takes half the listed amount of time (rounded down). For electronic forms of Armor, this lists how long it takes to activate or deactivate it. A character can put on their Armor hastily, which requires fewer rounds but inflicts a +1 HD, -1 DC Perception and -1 DC Finesse penalty for each round skipped. These penalties apply whether or not the armor ordinarily inflicts penalties for its use. *Regeneration: This lists how fast the Armor repairs itself, assuming it has that capability. *Damage Reduction (DR): This lists the amount of damage that is removed from a weapon's hit before the Armor's hit points are reduced. It is entirely possible for a character to be hit by a weapon that does no damage if its associated DR is high enough. *EC: This lists the armor's Encumbrance Class (for details on encumbrance, see Chapter 5.4). *Penalties: This lists any penalties inflicted on the character when utilizing the Armor; typically these include penalties to HD, Finesse Skill Checks and/or Perception Checks. *Effects: If the Armor has any special qualities, they are listed here. Armor that indicates it prevents damage from a weapon will take no damage whatsoever from that weapon. Armor that indicates it is ineffective against a weapon will allow all damage from that weapon through to the user, without taking damage itself in the process. *Cost: This is how much typical armor of the type and Class costs in credits. *Hit Points: This lists the amount of AHP the Armor imparts to the character; after the Armor has accumulated that much Lethal Damage, it is worthless. AHP also serves as a measure of the amount of Non-Lethal Damage the armor will absorb before any excess is imparted to its wearer. *Options: This is a list of features that may be added to a piece of Armor that will change one or more of its basic characteristics. Armor may only have one of the options listed below the specific given type (if any are selected at all). Note that the stats as presented herein are for "medium-sized" pieces of armor with default features; the same general list of modifiers that applied to weaponry (age, rarity, quality and size) are also applicable to various forms of armor. They also assume that the wearer is being subjected to weapons from the same technological era; if this is not the case, the effectiveness of the Armor may be reduced or enhanced. If the armor is one technological era ahead of a weapon, damage from the weapon is halved; if it is more than one technological era ahead, the weapon does no damage. If the weapon is one technological era ahead of the armor, its effectiveness is reduced by one-half; if the weapon is more than one technological era ahead, it is completely ineffective. As with weaponry, this sub-Chapter does not contain comprehensive or exhaustive list of all the types of armor available everywhere within the Wing Commander Universe (again, it'd be too time consuming to come up with one). Should a player want to use a type of armor for their character that is not listed herein, it will be up to the GM whether or not to allow it; if it is allowed, either an existing form of armor may be adapted into the new type or the new armor may be created from scratch using the item creation rules in Chapter 10.2.6. If adapting an existing form of Armor, a GM will need to adjust its stats as they deem necessary. Armor (Full Suit) *Type: Full-Plate Physical Armor *Availability: Metal Age *Deployment: 4 minutes *Regeneration: None. *DR: None. *EC: 3 per Class. *Penalties: +2 HD/THD/FHD per Class, -4 DC to all Finesse Checks, -2 DC to all Perception Checks per Class. *Effects: Transforms all Lethal Damage from melee weaponry (except Laser Sword and Laser Knife) into Non-Lethal Damage. Prevents Spray Acid damage and does not catch fire unless hit by Napalm. Players may if they so choose buy "components" instead of a whole suit all at once; each component protects a specific bodily area. These components may be mixed and matched with any other type of Armor option. Each component contributes a specific penalty to the suit. *Options: Pocketed Armor: Industrial Age, 1.05*cost, provides 6x16 pockets on exterior. Leather Armor: Stone Age, 0.15* cost, deployment 1 minute, EC1 per two Classes, no penalties, AHP*0.25, transforms damage from a Bow and Arrow hit into Non-Lethal Damage; no Lethal Damage is transformed from any other type of weapon. Mail: 0.5* cost, 1/2 deployment time, EC2 per Class, +1 HD/THD/FHD per Class, -2 DC to all '''Finesse' Checks, -1 DC to all Perception Checks per Class, AHP*0.5, ineffective against Slugthrowers and explosive ordinance.'' CBRN: Industrial Age, 1.1* cost, EC5 per Class, +3 HD/THD/FHD per Class, -5 DC to all '''Finesse' Checks, -3 DC to all Perception Checks per Class, prevents exposure to and damage from chemical, nuclear, biological or radiological hazards, 15% damage reduction to all weapons hits.'' '' Ballistic Mesh: Industrial Age, 1.25* cost, EC1 per Class, +1 HD/THD/FHD per Class, no '''Finesse' or Perception'' penalties, protects Body Area (vital/non-vital) only against damage from Slugthrowers; transforms all Lethal Damage from Slugthrowers into Non-Lethal Damage. 10% DR for all other weapons hits.'' '' Ballistic Plating: Industrial Age, 1.5* cost, EC5 per Class, +3 HD/THD/FHD per Class, -5 DC to all '''Finesse' Rolls, -3 DC to all Perception Checks per Class, covers entire body, transforms Lethal Damage from all projectile weapons (except Lasers and Plasma Guns) into Non-Lethal Damage, 25% DR for all beam weapon hits. '' Regenerative Armor: Starfaring Age, 2* cost, same penalties/benefits as Ballistic Plating, restores 10% of any lost AHP per round. Reflective Armor: Starfaring Age, 1.3* cost, same penalties/benefits as Ballistic Plating. If hit by a Laser, half of the laser's damage is reflected back to the source (a Reflex Save may be made by the source to avoid damage). Ablative Armor: Starfaring Age, 1.2* cost, same penalties/benefits as Ballistic Plating, transforms all damage from Lasers and any Fire Damage into Non-Lethal Damage. *Components: Helm: 0.25* cost, contributes all ''Perception DC penalties and EC1 per Class, deployment 1 round, protects Cognitive, Gustatory, Olfactory and Auditory organs only.'' Cuirass: 0.25* cost, contributes half of the total HD/THD/FHD penalties (round up) and EC1 per Class, protects Body Area (vital/non-vital) only. Armored Sleeve: 0.25* cost, contributes all '''Finesse' DC penalties and EC1 per Class (multiple sleeves do not add further penalties or EC), protects one Motor Appendage or Propulsive Appendage only.'' Fauld: 0.25* cost, contributes half of the total HD/THD/FHD penalties (round down), protects Reproductive Organs only. Shield (Physical) *Type: Shield (Physical) *Availability: Metal Age *Deployment: 2 rounds *Regeneration: None. *DR: None. *EC: 2 per Class. *Penalties: +2 HD/THD/FHD per Class. *Effects: First through Fifth Class require one motor appendage to deploy; Sixth Class and higher requires two motor appendages. Requires a successful Dexterous Maneuvers Check (with unfavorable circumstances) to protect any one body area, which can be rolled at the time of an opponent's attack. Cannot be pocketed but can be directly sheathed on the back (covers Non-Vital Body Area while sheathed). *Options: Wooden Shield: Stone Age, 0.1* cost, 0.1* AHP, ''Dexterous Maneuvers Check with favorable circumstances required to deploy, EC1 per two Classes. Sundered on any attack that causes more than 50 points of Lethal Damage.'' Scutum: Metal Age, 1.2* cost, +3 HD/THD/FHD per Class, covers all body parts except Propulsive Appendages when deployed. Buckler: Metal Age, 0.5* cost, 0.5* AHP, ''Dexterous Maneuvers Check with favorable circumstances required to deploy. Can be used as an improvised melee weapon; inflicts 1/2 its total remaining AHP (round down) as Non-Lethal Damage.'' Spiked Buckler: Metal Age, 0.6* cost, 0.5* AHP, ''Dexterous Maneuvers Check with favorable circumstances required to deploy. Can be used as an improvised melee weapon; inflicts 1/2 its total remaining AHP (round down) as Basic Damage.'' Ballistic Shield: Industrial Age, 1.5* cost, converts all Lethal Damage from projectile weapons into Non-Lethal Damage. Energy Shield *Type: Shield (Energy) *Availability: Starfaring Age *Deployment: 1 round *Regeneration: Requires Medium Battery for operation. Uses one battery charge per Class per hour while active; requires one charge to activate. SHP loss recharges at a rate of 10% of the maximum SHP every two minutes. User may use one charge per HP to rapidly regenerate up to 50 SHP per round at their discretion; this action requires manual operation. *DR: None. *EC: 1 (All Classes). *Penalties: None. *Effects: Ineffective against melee weapons. Shield generator requires a belt or holster to deploy; can be pocketed (requires two slots, all Classes). *Options: Personal Cloak: 400* cost, available only at Metropolis or Megalopolis-sized communities, *0.5 SHP, -25 HD/FHD while active, wearer becomes effectively invisible (+50 DC to any ''Hiding and Seeking Check made for hiding).'' Total Shield: 1.5* cost, also effective against melee weapons. Offensive Shield: 3* cost, character can use a Battery charge (per Shield Class) to inflict Basic Damage equal to the Shield's current SHP at Melee Range Zero. Half-Shield: 0.5* cost, requires Small Battery for operation, 1/2 SHP, does not cover motor or propulsive appendages. Area Shield: 0.25* cost, requires Small Battery, 1/2 SHP, covers a single body part (should be specified in the Shield's statistics). Bio-Hazard Shield: 1.5* cost, requires Large Battery, prevents exposure to and damage from chemical, nuclear, biological and radiological hazards. Laser Resistant Shield: 1.1+x* cost (x=level of Class reduction), treat damage from Laser hits as if they were done by a Laser x number of Classes below the weapon’s actual level. If the reduction would indicate a "Class Zero" laser or less, the weapon causes no damage. Rapid Recharge Shield: x* cost, Shield recharges at a rate of x * 50 SHP per charge expended when recharged manually. ---- NEXT: 5.4 General Equipment PREVIOUS: 5.4 Weapons TOP ---- Category:WCRPG